Terror warning as tsunami toll tops 175,000

The United Nations has increased security for its workers in Indonesia's Aceh province following a Danish government warning of "imminent" terror attacks.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has added a further 7,275 people to its death toll, taking the country's total to more than 38,000 and raising the overall figure for the Boxing Day disaster beyond 175,000.

"The U.N. security team in Banda Aceh has today instructed all UN staff to observe a heightened awareness and take all security precautions necessary," said Christian Berthiaume, Geneva spokeswoman for the United Nations' World Food Program.

The UN acted following a warning from the Danish foreign ministry that rescue workers and troops in Aceh are at risk from terror attacks.

Niels Erik Andersen, a Danish Foreign Ministry official, said: "We have received information from sources abroad that somebody would be planning an attack today."

Indonesia's foreign minister dismissed the report as an "unfounded rumour".

However, the warning will reignite fears for the safety of aid workers in the Aceh region, which has been the scene of a decades-old separatist rebellion and bombings by al Qa'eda-linked terror groups.

In Sri Lanka, which has its own longstanding rebellion to contend with in the Tamil region, the jump in the death toll was not due to the sudden discovery of more bodies, but rather a backlog of figures from remote areas.

Sri Lanka announced a reconstruction drive to build 15 new towns on its southern and eastern coasts. The government will help people rebuild in safe areas, or simply construct new towns.

But some Sri Lankans were already rebuilding, defying a government ban to put up houses and hotels close to the shore.

"I'm worried about my family but I'm also worried about the future of my children. This is my business. How else will I protect and feed my children?" said Ranjith Premakumara, 28, rebuilding a guest house just 30 yards from the beach in the southern town of Paiyagala South.